Ugolyn was a 1997 graduate of Ridgefield High School. He was co-captain of the school's varsity basketball team and often played on the old outdoor courts next to the school. Those courts were removed when the high school was expanded.

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and with time donated by local contractors
Reed Whipple
, Dick Dingee and Val Ericson.

"It's a beautiful and most fitting tribute and legacy to our beloved son," said
Victor Ugolyn

, Tyler's father.

"Tyler loved playing the game of basketball and worked hard on improving his game by practicing daily when the weather allowed. We are pleased, as we know he is, that youngsters in his beloved hometown and high school will have the opportunity to accomplish their dreams with this new court," he said.

Ugolyn played with the Ridgefield Basketball Association travel team. He carried his love of basketball with him through his studies at
Columbia University
, from which he had just graduated at the time of the 9/11 attack.

While at Columbia, Ugolyn ran an inner-city basketball league for children in Harlem.

RBA travel coach
Tony Pisano
remembered Ugolyn on Wednesday as being "basically a coach's dream. He did everything asked, worked hard and was a great team player.

"He was a wonderful kid. He was unselfish. He was a leader - respectful of his coaches, his teammates and his opponents," Pisano said.

Pisano will speak at the opening ceremony at the court.

"It is going to be great for the people of Ridgefield who participate and play the game," Pisano said. "I would hope that some of Tyler's characteristics are bestowed on those who play there."

Dr.
Robert Preti
of the RBA led the drive to build the court in Ugolyn's memory.

"There was a tremendous number of people who put their shoulder to this," Preti said. "It's a wide group of people who put in tremendous effort. Saturday will be fantastic. One of the hallmarks of the whole day will be the inaugural game played by Tyler's brother, Trevor, and Tyler's friends."

As Victor Ugolyn reflected on the closeness of the Ridgefield community and his son, Tyler, who was such an integral part of it, he thought of an epitaph fitting for his son's life. It was that of baseball legend
Jackie Robinson
.

"The value of one's life is not determined by the number of years that you've lived but by the number of lives you've touched," Ugolyn said.